Information
Technology
Note: These courses are restricted to students who have been accepted into the third year of a Kwantlen degree program.
Professional Communications in Information Technology
Students will address the activities and techniques for developing proposals, specifications, narratives, reports, memoranda, executive summaries and other documentations commonly used in information technology. Students will present written and oral communication assignments based on the standard Information Systems Development Lifecycle: Investigation, Analysis, Design, Development, Testing and Implementation.
Web Programming with Java
The design philosophy of Java and its unique features make it a powerful language to program systems and applications for the internet and intranets. This course covers the syntax, resources and utilities package of Java. Students will examine Java design principles and use Java to construct components that will include graphical user interfaces, animated images and audio features in multimedia systems and to develop executable and interactive components for both the internet and intranet environments.
Discrete Mathematics
This course provides students with a theoretical foundation in computation and computability. Students will learn principles, concepts and applications of discrete mathematics. Topics include: set theory, logic, formal reasoning, induction, counting, relations, functions, mapping, formal languages, automata theory and graph theory.
Advanced Data Communications Systems
Students will study and implement current methods of interconnecting computers and networks. Topics will include LAN switching and virtual LANs, various Wide Area Network protocols, Wireless Networking, network security, and monitoring and troubleshooting techniques.
Distributed Systems
Students will learn the concepts, principles and techniques used in the design and construction of distributed systems. Special focus will be put on client/server systems and the implications of implementing software and applications over a network.
Multimedia Systems
Students will acquire knowledge of multimedia systems architecture, digital audio and video representation and the format of multimedia storage and image processing. They will learn the application of multimedia information system including multimedia authoring, multimedia conferencing, multimedia Group Ware, knowledge-based multimedia systems and high definition television and desktop integrated computing.
Object-Oriented Software Development
Students will build on the concepts of abstraction, encapsulation, classes, objects, association, inheritance, pattern and framework to construct object-oriented software systems. They will evaluate methodologies that are commonly used in industry and apply them to improve software quality, increase productivity and promote software reuse.
Human Factors and Computer Interface Design
As modern systems become increasingly complex, it is critical to ensure that system functionality is designed from the perspective of end user requirements. The purpose of this course is to introduce the students to human factor procedures for analyzing job and task requirements and for translating this information into design criteria. An important focus will be procedures for insuring that compute interface design specifications meet end user requirements in terms of safety, performance criteria and job satisfaction. Main topic areas include identification of user requirements, system design, procedures and tools to design human computer interfaces and usability testing.
Advanced Systems Diagnosis and Interfaces
Students will learn to install, configure, diagnose, interface and tune the performance of complex computer hardware and software systems. They will acquire the skill of using tools to identify, isolate and resolve system problems to maintain systems components including but not limited to circuit boards, memory, hard drives, CD-ROM’s, network interface cards, and peripherals. Other topics will include analyzing network performance, security and disaster recovery planning for computer systems, and the assessment and maintenance of a corporate network beyond the organization.
Software Engineering Implementation
Students will learn advanced topics in Information Technology (IT) project management. They will examine various issues relating to the development and implementation of complex information systems. Students will also explore the use of new technologies in IT project management and will extensively use a project management software application to complete assignments, case studies and the term project.
Entrepreneurial Development in Information Technology
Students will gain an understanding of entrepreneurship fundamentals in the information technology sector, including business planning, financing and venture capital, operations, human resources, marketing and personal selling.
Software Quality Assurance
Students will learn the essential features involved developing timely, cost-effective and high quality software products that meet the user’s requirements. They will examine the effective deployment of quality assurance procedures throughout the entire software development process. Other topics covered in this course will include: the concepts of Total Quality Management (TQM), development of quality assurance plans, implementation of verification and validation functions, selection of tools t o support quality assurance, application of software metrics to measure quality, and the International Standards Organization (ISO) certification process.
Data Warehousing and Data Mining
Students will examine the problems caused by having too much information and the methods, processes and tools for extracting useful information from multidimensional databases and data marts stored on different system platforms. They will also acquire the techniques for defining, selecting, implementing and evaluating data warehousing and data mining solutions for businesses.
Integration Project
Students will apply their prior learning to an integration project which may be the critical analysis of a selected area in information technology, or the development of an innovative solution to a significant problem in information technology. They may also implement information technology applications in a subject area such as art, business, marketing, accounting, economics, human relations, natural science, social science, health science and technology.
